


Relations of Severus Snape

by OrganisedNonsense



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adventure, Crossover, Gen, Multi, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Weasley Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrganisedNonsense/pseuds/OrganisedNonsense
Summary: It was a blissfully normal day in London. Key word- was.Nico tracks down a relative and decides to pay him a visit. His friends invite themselves along.  However, this relative turns out to be a lot less normal than Nico had thought he would be. And he hadn't thought he was going to be normal. Little does he know, this journey is going to be a lot wilder than a normal family reconnection.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 31
Kudos: 322





	1. -THE HIDDEN HOUSE-

**Author's Note:**

> Just signed up for ao3, but this story is also on my Wattpad account Organised nonsense. Other than that, enjoy reading.

It was dark and dreary, as the world had decided today was the perfect day to uphold the stereotypes of England’s weather. Despite the somber atmosphere, the Londoners packed the streets, equipped with coats and umbrellas. All in all, it was a very normal day in London.

That is, until a certain group of teenage tourists decided to ruin everyone’s peace with their loud, obnoxious complaints. You see, these were no ordinary teenagers, perhaps here for an exchange program. No, these were half godly teenagers. Much more troublesome.

Shivering in just orange shirts and carrying suitcases, they pushed their way through the crowd. Nico di Angelo had just left the airport and he, like the weather, was not in the best of spirits. He was cold, stiff, tired and just about ready to murder the next person who spoke to him; so not very different from his regular mood. It didn’t help that his friends, Piper and Jason, were absolutely useless with maps.

‘Oh for Olympus’ sake, Let me do it!’ Nico was snapped out of his reverie by Annabeth, as she snatched the map of them and started studying it herself. ‘You idiots! We were supposed to turn left two streets ago!’

‘What? But I thought this was Regent Street- oh, wait,” Piper checked the street sign.’Never mind. Do we have to go the whole way back?’

Annabeth’s glare made it easy enough to guess. The group groaned as they turned around.

Contrary to the gloomy weather outside, the inside of 12 Grimmauld place was warm and lively. It usually was these days, being the headquarters of the Order of The Phoenix. Today it was even more so, as an Order meeting was about to begin, and the house was even more crowded than usual.

Molly Weasley had just finished setting up an impressive array of snacks, the order members were conversing with each other, or checking files they would soon be giving updates on, the younger members of the household were entertaining themselves in the drawing room, and Severus Snape had just arrived, meaning all the members were present and the meeting could commence. Everything was just as it should be. If only they knew then of the shocking event that would occur soon, disrupting their carefree peace.

Our nine, previously disgruntled teenagers had finally managed to find their hotel, and check in. Now in better spirits after a good night's sleep, the group was ready to begin the adventure that had brought them all the way across the world.

Nico di Angelo was rereading the letter that had started it all. It wasn’t the first time either. Since receiving it Nico had read the letter no less than sixty-three times, as his boyfriend, Will, liked to joke. The letter was not the sort of letter that would usually warrant such obsession. It was not from anyone he knew, nor was it particularly interesting looking. In fact, all it really said was that he had a great-nephew traced back to his mother. While it is true that most normal fourteen-year-old boys did not have great nephews, Nico’s family was anything but normal. He decided that when they met he would just introduce himself as a cousin, to avoid any awkward questions.

He had originally planned, unsurprisingly, on coming alone. However, as soon as he mentioned his idea to the others, they had insisted on coming. Originally it had just been Annabeth, because she wanted to see the architecture in London, then of course Percy wanted to come with her, then Hazel found out and she was very offended she hadn’t been invited, Frank wanted to go with Hazel, then he told Jason, who also wanted to come, then of course Piper had too come with him, and leo with her, and then the group was so big that Will coming was just a given.

Putting the letter away, he decided to get ready to meet the others, who were probably awake and waiting for him. Fifteen minutes later, the group was standing outside the hotel, going over directions as they waited for Leo and Percy, who were buying public transport cards.

Just as they finished going over the plan (which they learned from last time, was a handy thing to have), Leo and Percy appeared. They sat down at the bus stop, talking excitedly.

‘What do ya think he’ll be like?’ asked Percy, looking over at Nico. The group turned their attention to him.

‘Um, Well..’ Nico shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with all their eyes on him. ‘I only met my aunt a few times. I didn’t like her very much. I always thought she didn’t like us.’

‘I’m sure he’ll be nice enough. I mean, you’re being accompanied by eight very strong, scary looking teenagers,’ said Piper.

‘He would have to be insane to say you’re unwelcome,’ continued Annabeth.

At that moment the bus pulled up, and all worries about the man’s temper were replaced by jittery excitement.

Quite a while later, after several buses and a train, at exactly eleven-thirty, the group had almost arrived at their destination. They chattered as they left the bus stop, backpacks slung over their shoulders full of various weapons in case of emergency.

‘This is a very ominous looking street, don’t you think?’ Piper said, observing the ancient, foreboding, English townhouses.

‘Yeah, it gives me the feeling we’re going to get attacked or something.’ Leo answered.

‘Well, with nine demigods in the same place, it’s not entirely unlikely.’

‘I wonder why we haven’t been attacked already?’

The group continued discussing the matter until Annabeth, looking up from her map, interjected:

‘Of course we’re not going to be attacked. honestly! We’re in England, monsters don’t live here. And even if they did, there’s nine of us. Monsters are horrible, but they’re not crazy. They know they’d get stomped into dust if they so much as walked down the road four blocks from here.’

‘Oh. Right.’ said Leo meekly. The rest of the group looked rather embarrassed at being called out for their paranoia. It was quickly forgotten though, as they turned the corner onto a street called Grimmauld Place.

‘Hey, Everyone! This is the place, This is the street!’ Nico said excitedly. Will grabbed his hand and pulled him along. They ran around looking for number twelve.

‘Children these days,’ Percy rolled his eyes and sniffed haughtily, making everyone laugh.

They were happy to run around and get some exercise though, which they hadn’t been able to do since they boarded their flight two-and-a-half days ago. Hazel insisted that they would disturb the people living there, but she was happy to see them running around, and she didn’t tell them off too much.

All activity stopped, however, when Jason yelled:

‘Look! Number eleven!’

Everyone instantly looked at the house next to it, only to find it was labelled number thirteen. Eleven and thirteen were right next to each other, with no twelve in the middle. Piper suggested checking the house opposite, but that wasn’t twelve either.

‘Are you sure it didn’t say thirteen or something?’ Will asked, leaning his head on Nico’s shoulder as they reread the letter.

‘No. It definitely says twelve.’ Nico replied.

‘Maybe they made a mistake?’ Percy said, coming to Nico’s side to read the letter himself.

‘Hang on! Everyone stop!’ they all looked over at Hazel, who suddenly seemed on edge. ‘I can sense magic around here. Something’s being concealed.’

‘What? But you said there were no magical beings around here!’ Leo said incredulously.

‘Maybe they’re other demigods?’ Frank guessed, putting his hand on Hazel’s shoulder.

‘Well they’re hiding something. Something big. And there’s only one way to find out what it is.’ Jason said, looking around at the group with a determined gaze.

Hazel nervously stepped forward. She closed her eyes and raised her hands, humming softly. After a few minutes of her walking around and waving her hands, which must have looked very funny to the neighbours, she stopped right in front of the house.

‘Drop your defences and open to us.’

At once there was a strange rumbling noise. Slowly, another house appeared between number eleven and thirteen. It continued getting bigger and bigger until it was the same size as the other houses. Leo turned to her in awe.

‘Wow Hazel. Remind me to never try to hide stuff from you.’


	2. -MEETING THE FAMILY-

The Order of the Phoenix was seated around the long dining table, talking lightheartedly with each other when they heard the first sign that something wasn’t right. The voices of children carried to the kitchen, where Molly Weasley and her husband were fetching drinks.

‘Arthur dear, do you hear that?’

‘Hear what, love?’ He replied, distracted by the choices of wine.

‘Children’s voices.’

Arthur listened for a few moments, and he too picked up on the voices. He decided it wasn’t anything important.

‘It’s probably just the kids Molly.’

‘But they shouldn’t be outside-’ He cut her off.

‘It’ll be the sound echoing. You know how this house is,” And with that he left the room.

Back in the dining room Albus Dumbledore was calling the meeting to order. All the wizards and witches were taking their seats around the table. The chattering died down as they all turned to look at him.

‘Well. It is wonderful to see you all here. This is the first meeting the order has had since the war, but it has come to my attention that the threat has risen again. It is my great sorrow that I must inform you that Voldemort is indeed back.’

There were gasps at the name followed by whispers all around the room.

‘That is why it is essential that we-’ 

He was cut off by a loud knock. Everyone instantly tensed. There was absolutely no reason for anybody to be at the door. All the members were already here.

‘It was probably just the children,’ said Arthur, though he still sat rigid in his chair with his hand on his wand.

Another sharp knock broke the silence. They couldn’t ignore it any longer. Quietly, Dumbledore left his place at the table and walked over to the dining room door. He pointed at Kingsley, Moody, Snape and McGonagall, motioning them to come with him. 

They quietly made their way to the door, wands at the ready. Dumbledore undid the locks and put his hand on the doorknob, nodding at his three companions to get ready. He counted quietly under his breath.

‘Three, two, one-’

He flung the door open and pointed his wand at the trespassers. They stopped talking at once and froze. Slowly they looked up at him. Leo (who was hiding behind Frank, for reasons he would never admit) decided to break the silence.

‘Uuuum. Hi.’

The four wizards and the witch looked at each other in shock and confusion. They seemed unsure of what to do.

‘Stun them,’ whispered Snape, glaring as usual. ‘Quickly. We can question them when they’re tied up and can’t harm us.’

‘Agreed. They trespassed here. They can deal with the consequences,’ Moody added.

‘We can’t do that! They’re children! Let them in.’ McGonagall whispered back.

Dumbledore listened to his colleagues' advice as he surveyed the teenage apparitions on the doorstep. Finally he spoke, loud enough for the whole group to hear.

‘I think it would be unwise, to attack first and ask questions later. Especially as it appears they are children.’

‘What? Are you mad? They’re probably Death Eaters in disguise!’ Moody said.

‘I assure you, I have not gone mad yet. We will invite these guests in, and treat them politely,’ staring sternly at Snape and Moody as he said it. He turned to the group outside. ‘Now. You must understand that you have walked in on something very secret and very important. We will do you no harm as long as you treat us as much. However, we do have a few questions surrounding your entry. Please come in, but keep in mind that I will not refrain from stunning you if you attempt to attack any of us.’

He, and the other wizards and witch stood back from the door to let them inside. They came in, looking thoroughly suspicious. They passed the entry room into the hallway. Leo poked one of the elf heads. He decided to try lightening the mood.

‘Erm. Lovely… Decor you have, Mr. Long Beard.’ 

‘Yes, gives it a cozy feel. I always look at rooms and think: You know what this needs? A few shrivelled heads,’ Percy said, joining in. Annabeth Facepalmed.

‘Got a smart tongue on ya, have you? Well-’ Moody was cut off by Dumbledore warningly putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked aggravated, but decided against saying anything more.

Luckily, any more attempts on Percy and Leo’s parts at making jokes were interrupted by Kingsely ushering them into the dining room. As he stood in the doorway, Nico thought he saw a flash of something that looked like an ear. He thought about pointing it out to Will, but decided against it. It was probably nothing.

They entered the dining room to find it full of people, all standing with their arms outstretched and short sticks in their hands. It certainly was a strange sight.

‘Umm, I hate to break it to you, but you all like you’re doing some sort of Nazi salute…’ Leo attempted to joke again. ‘Wait. You’re not Nazis, are you?’

His joke did not lighten the mood. It may have even made it worse. The strange people eyed him suspiciously. 

‘What on earth is a Nazi?’ Mrs. Weasley asked.

‘It’s a muggle thing, Molly dear,’ Mr. Weasley replied.

‘Oh. Are these muggles then?’

‘We’re not sure yet. I have yet to see how they could’ve gotten in here if they were, but old Albus here seems to think it was a good idea to invite them in for tea!’ Moody said, shooting a glare at Dumbledore.

There was silence for a few seconds. As kingsley closed the door Nico got a glimpse of the ear-like shape again. He decided not to mention it. They wizards awkwardly stared at the teenagers.

‘Well Arthur, get them some chairs. You’ve come just in time for lunch, dears.’

The group was grateful of the woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Weasley, and her cooking. It seemed like forever since they had sat down a meal together, though in reality it probably wasn’t very long at all. 

The rest of the people however, were not nearly so welcoming. As soon as they were comfortable the people started hurling questions at them. A strange looking man with two different eyes and quite a few scars initiated the conversation in the friendliest way possible.

‘How’d you get in?’

‘Mad-eye, you should at least try to politely start the conversation,’ A stern, grey haired woman scolded him.

‘Be polite? They’re trespassers! Tell them to be polite!’

Mrs Weasley did not tell them to be polite. Instead she smiled kindly at them.

‘What are your names, dears?’

Nico, despite hating that all the attention would be on him, decided to go first. After all, they were here because of him.

‘Um...I’m Nico. Nico di Angelo. How do you do?’ Will, Leo and Percy snorted. You can take the boy out of the 40s’ but you can’t take the 40s’ out of the boy. 

Since no one seemed like they were going to answer him, he decided to continue, ‘These are my friends Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Will, Piper, Frank, and my sister Hazel,’ he said pointing at each of them.

‘What about me?’ Leo asked.

‘You’re not my friend,’ Nico deadpanned. Their group laughed. The wizards didn’t. 

‘Enough,’ the two-eyed-man said, ‘Why are you here?’

‘Well, they came uninvited,’ Nico started, earning a few more laughs from his friends. ‘I’m here because I received a letter a few months ago telling me I had a family over here. I’ve been tracking down my family for a while, you see’

Mrs. Weasley looked at him sympathetically. The wizards had enough sense to guess what had happened.

‘I couldn’t find the family member anywhere on the internet, and they didn’t seem to have a phone number, so I had to send a letter,’ Nico continued. ‘Though, by the way you acted when we arrived, I’m going to assume that it never got here.’

‘You would be correct in assuming that,’ The man with the long beard said.

‘Alright, alright, your parents died and you're looking for your long lost family, blah blah blah.’ The man Nico assumed was called Mad-eye interrupted. ‘But how did you get through the magic wards?’

The grey haired lady looked ready to tell him off, but longbeard held up a hand to silence her. The group of teens squirmed in their seats, looking incredibly suspicious.

‘Well,’ Nico started, nervously clearing his throat. ‘My sister, Hazel, is very good at sorcery. When we discovered that 12 Grimmauld Place didn’t seem to be here, we were about to leave, and Hazel said that someone had hidden something with magic here. Then, of course, once we knew something was there we had to find out what-’

‘What do you mean “Of course”! You could’ve just left it alone!’ Mad-eye interrupted again.

The demigods shared a look. 

‘Yeah right.’ Percy muttered under his breath. Kingsely cleared his throat and watched Hazel with a strong stare.

‘If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did you break the wards?’

‘Well, It’s rather complicated, I felt it, it was well hidden, because I didn't realise for a few minutes, but then I found it, and then I had to see what was hiding the house, and break it.’ Hazel answered their question. ‘I’m afraid the actual breaking bit is the complicated part. I don’t think you’d understand.’

Instantly the wizards looked outraged. There were many cries of ‘Don’t understand? She’s a child! She can’t understand anything we don’t!’ and ‘Dark magic! That’s why she’s not telling us!’

The man with a long beard raised his hand for silence. Then he cleared his throat.

‘Miss um-’

‘Levesque, sir.’

‘Miss Levesque, I can assure you that we’re all highly trained wizards. I’m sure we can understand any spells you explain to us.’

‘Of course, I’ll try, sir. I apologise, I didn’t want to come off as rude, only it’s rather hard for me to explain it. I was able to feel the magic in the air so I felt around, so I could see what I needed to break. Then I dismantled the enchantments, kind of like dismantling a wall. Then I ordered the enchantments to allow us entry. That’s really the best I can explain it, sir.’ 

The wizards looked utterly baffled. It just then occurred to Nico how strange it must have seemed for the people to have a fourteen-year-old break the borders that they must have thought impenetrable.

‘Perhaps it would be best if we went over your, um… Abilities later, Miss Levesque. There is only one thing I want to know right now,’ he turned to Nico. ‘Who are you here to visit?’


	3. -SELFISH SIBLINGS-

Nico rummaged through his backpack. After a few seconds he pulled out a muggle letter. He began to read.

‘Dear Mr. di Angelo,

I am writing to inform you that we have located one of your family members, Mr. Severus Snape. He has no internet presence we can detect, nor does he have a phone number. However, he can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London or 45 Spinner’s End, Cokeworth, England, if you wish to send a letter.   
We wish you luck reconnecting with your family.

Sincerely,  
Anna Johnston  
Birth Records Office’

There were a few moments of silence. Then Nico spoke.

‘So. Is my gre- um, cousin, Severus Snape here?’

Everyone turned to look at the tall, greasy haired man that had suggested ‘stunning’ them when first arrived. He was standing in the shadows near the door. He turned pale and looked as though he might vomit. Everyone stood in tense silence as they waited to see what would happen. 

‘What utter rubbish,’ Snape finally reacted. ‘A bunch of teenagers on the doorstep, claiming to be related to me! They’re obviously death eaters! How else could they get through the wards? I told you, we should have stunned them on sight.’

Dumbledore was about to reply when someone else cut him off. Frank stood up, looking surprisingly calm in the face of this unknown danger. Instantly, the wizards pulled out their wands.

‘Look. I assure you that none of us came with the intention of attacking you. We only wanted to help Nico find his family. You’ve made it pretty clear we’re not welcome here, so I think we’ll be going now.’ When he finished, he picked up his backpack and headed for the door, the others leaving their seats behind him.

However, before he even got within a foot of the door, he was pulled back by Snape.

‘Where do you think you’re going? You expect to break into a top secret organisation, claim to be related to me, and then just leave?’

‘He's right! Stun ‘em and put ‘em in the basement. Then let’s see what they make of truth serum!’ Mad-eye added.

‘Silence! Severus, unhand the poor boy, and everyone sit down! That means you too Alastor.’ Dumbledore said, his loud voice echoing around the room. At once, everybody resumed their places. Then he continued to the group of demigods. `We have no intention of manhandling you. However, I think it is best if you stay with us a little while longer, until we can make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. Molly, would you be so kind to escort our guests upstairs for now, while we continue our meeting?’

Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly at the group, ushering them into the hall. Inside the dining room, the meeting went on, now focused on an entirely different subject.

~o-o-o~

Upstairs, the younger residents of 12 Grimmauld place made their way back to their own rooms as quickly and quietly as possible. They had been waiting for this meeting ever since they arrived, and they definitely weren’t going to throw away their chance to listen in on it. 

Using Fred and George’s extendable ears, they were standing just above the doorway, listening as hard as they could, when they heard the knock. Luckily, the order members didn’t come out immediately, so they had time to get out of sight. They watched as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Kingsley, Snape and Mad-eye came out, carefully opening the door to meet the intruders.

Standing outside, I kid you not, were a bunch of teenagers. How could they have broken the wards? No school-kid would be able to do that, and they certainly didn’t look like death eaters. Then again, they could be using polyjuice potion.

These were all thoughts that ran through George Weasley’s mind as he hid in the doorway. Sadly, they didn’t have enough time to get a good look at them, but they did listen in on the rest of the meeting. Snape had a cousin? And he had come to visit? And he was a teenager? 

However, he did not have time to ponder those questions, because that was when he heard Dumbledore tell his mother to bring the mysterious guests upstairs. The same upstairs they were currently hiding in. 

Safely back in their rooms, and suspiciously quiet, the children listened as their mother brought them up.

‘Now it’ll be a little crowded, because there’s quite a few of you, but I’m sure it will do till we come and get you. All comfortable? Alright, I’ll come back soon.’

As soon as they heard their mother leave, they opened their doors and raced to the room she had just left. Fred and George got there first, apparating straight in front of the doorway. The rest of the Weasley children soon joined them.

‘So who might you be?’ Fred began the conversation.

‘And how did you get in?’ George continued.

‘And why did you get in?’

‘It would have taken some serious skill.’

‘And you don’t look like death eaters.’

‘And would you like a chocolate frog?’

‘Fred! George! Quit offering candy to death eaters!’ Ginny interrupted. ‘And keep it down, we don’t want mum to know we came in here.’

‘Alright, alright-’ Before he could say anything else, he was cut off by the small, latino boy, who had introduced himself as Leo.

‘Chocolate frog? You have chocolate? I’m starving!’

George began to hand it to him, but Ginny snatched it away.

‘I don’t think so. Not until you explain a few things to us. Chocolate is for people who answer,’ She sat down on one of the armchairs. ‘Question one. Who are you?’

The group went around the room, introducing themselves.

‘Alright. Question two. Which of you is Snape’s cousin?’

Nico di Angelo raised his hand.

‘Probably should have guessed that.’ Fred snorted.

‘Yeah I can see the family resemblance. Same dark, brooding look’

‘Are you an asshole too?’

The group laughed at his comments, while Nico rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. Then Ginny hit Geore, and they laughed harder. 

‘No he’s not, we can vouch for him. He’s actually very nice.’Will Solace said, once he recovered from his laughter.

‘You’re just saying that because you’re my boyfriend and you have to.’

‘I don’t have to. I could say you’re my boyfriend and you’re an asshole.’

The visitors broke out in laughter again, but the wizards looked confused. It just then occurred to Nico that these people might be less than accepting of him and Will. After a few seconds though, the younger red haired boy laughed as well.

‘Sorry, I was really confused for a second there. The way you said boyfriend made it sound like you were dating.’

The other wizards started laughing as well, and this time it was the other group’s turn to be confused. Nico turned red and looked over to Will. They had a quick, entirely silent conversation as they decided what to do. Finally Will interrupted their laughter.

‘Um… We are dating…’ he said meekly, throwing a sideways glance at Nico.

‘What?’ asked Fred.

‘You two? You’re dating?’ George continued.

‘Yeah. That’s what he just said.’ Nico replied, staring George in the eye, as if daring him to question it. The wizards looked at eachother, confused. Ginny nervously spoke up.

‘But you’re… Well you’re both..’

‘Boys?’ Will asked.

‘Well yes.’

Will and Nico both looked extremely awkward. The rest of their gang however, looked just about ready to jump them.

‘But why would you do that?’ Fred asked incredulously, completely unaware of the annoyance the rest of the visitors were making extremely obvious. ‘I mean, it’s not like you could reproduce. What’s the point?’

‘You wouldn’t expect fourteen-year-olds to have kids if they were a guy and a girl. So why are you bringing it up?’ Jason said, glaring at them.

Fred opened his mouth, then closed it. Ginny decided now was the time to change topics.

‘Okay, question three. Are you wizards?’

The teens looked at each other as if trying to decide the best way to answer.

‘Well, Hazel’s pretty good at sorcery…’ Frank Zhang started, putting his arm around her. ‘She’s the one that got us in here.’

‘What do you mean “Pretty good at sorcery” are you a witch or not?’ Fred asked, once again oblivious of his rudeness. George wanted nothing more than to slap his hand over his brother’s mouth before he did any more damage.

‘Well I can do magic. But I wouldn’t really say I’m a witch… I suppose I am. I’ve never really thought about it,’ Hazel said. 

‘Yeah. I mean, I can manipulate water, and Jason can control air, and Nico can raise the dead, Leo is pyrokinetic, it goes on. But we don’t refer to ourselves as wizards or anything.’ Percy Jackson supplied.

‘You can what?’ Ron asked. 

Unfortunately, just as he said it, the children heard someone coming up the stairs. Without a word to their guests, the Weasley siblings ran (or apparated) out of the room as fast as humanly possible.


	4. -A LOT OF CONVINCING-

The demigods quickly arranged themselves to look like they weren’t doing anything as Mrs. Weasley walked down the hall to their room. In a moment of panic Nico accidently fell onto Will, causing him to shout. They righted themselves and fell onto the sofa, not a second too soon as they her knock.

‘Can I come in?’ Mrs Weasley entered, carrying a basket full of washing. ‘The meeting’s over, so you can come down and talk to everyone. I dare say you’ll want to meet the children, they’re just about the same age as you.’

They tried to make it seem like they hadn’t already.

‘Yes, I thought I heard children's voices.’ Percy attempted pathetically. It seemed to work on Mrs. Weasley though.

‘They are very loud, aren’t they?’

The demigods quickly nodded their heads in agreement, a little too rigorously to seem unsuspicious.

‘Well, come along dears,’ she said. ‘I assume everybody’s in the drawing room, downstairs, if you want to see them. I’ll be in the ironing room, if you need me.’

Nico led the way down the stairs, his mind wandering to the disastrous meeting. This was a tricky situation. The people here seemed nice enough, and he had the chance to get to know his family, but it was risky. Some of the people seemed violent and paranoid, not to mention they were less than accepting of him and Will. Though, that could just be the teenagers, but he had a hunch it wasn’t.

Everyone instantly stopped talking as they entered the drawing room. The Weasley siblings were clattering down the stairs behind them, eager to watch the adult’s reactions. Ginny entered last, meaning the entire population of Grimmauld Place, with the addition of a few order members, was in the room; and they were all looking at the demigods. The charade began.

‘Who are you?’ Fred asked, putting on an act of excitement and suspicion.

‘Yeah, why are you in our house.’ George continued, playing along. The rest of the Weasley siblings quickly caught on and began shouting demands for answers.

‘All of you calm down, and stop being so impolite to our guests!’ Mrs Weasley shouted, ceasing their fake interrogation. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico thought he saw Fred Weasley glare at him. Mrs. Weasley put her hand on Nico’s shoulder, pushing him forward, towards the other children. 

‘Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, this is Nico di Angelo. He is a distant cousin of Professor Snape. He and his friends might be around for a while, and I expect you all to be polite to them while they’re here,’ She ended sharply, noticing their very obvious glares. 

The demigods, however, were nonplussed. Maybe this situation had been made out to seem more dangerous than it actually was. The people in the house definitely weren’t monsters; or gods for that matter. They suspected it was a congregation of humans involved in godly exploits. Though, they didn’t have the same distinctly strong aura that demigods had, nor did they have a Egyptian magical one. This was probably another religion entirely. Nico felt like he could be related to every religion in existence at this rate.

Mrs Weasley had left the room, declaring she had to get started on dinner, leaving the awkward occupants of the room to fend for themselves. 

“So. This is a very nice house. Who chose the decor?’ Percy said, attempting to start the conversation.

‘My lovely, dead mother,’ replied a haggard looking man. ‘It’s mine now. I don’t much care for her style, though. My name’s Sirius. Sirius Black,’ he studied their faces for any sign of recognition. 

‘Nice to meet you Sirius,’ Annabeth replied, sticking her hand out for him to shake.

‘None of you would happen to know who I am would you?’ he gazed around at them suspiciously.

‘Um. No. Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.’

He looked at them for a moment, as if trying to decide something, before letting it pass, and replying cheerfully.

‘So, you're Snivellus’ cousin. You didn’t inherit his awful nose, I see, and I hope you didn’t inherit his horrible personality either.’

‘Well, he’s said about five sentences to me since I arrived, and they were all along the lines of knocking me out, so it’s hard to tell.’

‘You like knocking people out Nico, see, you already have something in common,’ Jason said feigning optimism.

‘Yeah but most of the time it’s not myself I’m knocking out,’ the entire group looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds before he realised. ‘Oh wait. Scratch that.’

Everyone looked between Snape and Nico, waiting to see who would begin the conversation. 

‘Soooo. Sup cuz?’

Severus Snape did not deem that an appropriate greeting apparently.

‘Even if everybody here believes it, I refuse to buy your story. I can assure you, you are no relative of mine.’

How he didn’t die instantly from the terrifying looks his cousin’s companions were giving him, the residents of Grimmauld Place would never know. The good thing was, they didn’t seem eager to cross Percy after seeing his glare. 

‘Well I’m not exactly overjoyed about meeting you either. The rest of you seem ok though, so far. So I suppose we’ll stay,’ he looked to the other demigods, who thought for a few seconds before nodding along. 

‘Yeah, alright. I guess we’ll stay for a while,’ Percy said.

‘What do you mean, you guess you’ll stay? You’re staying in this house, until we see fit for you to leave!’ 

‘Alastor!’ Mrs. Weasley scolded, but the demigods just laughed.

‘Oh, trust me. If we wanted to leave we would have done it a long time ago.’ Percy laughed, despite the ominous mood. The wizards and witches glanced at each other nervously.

‘What utter rubbish. This arrogant imbecile is definitely not related to  _ me _ . We have them being watched at all times and there’s borders around the whole perimeter. There’s no way for them to escape,’ Snape sneered. Nico was liking him less and less by the minute. To think they had travelled across half the globe to meet a greasy sociopath.

Jason and Percy, however, laughed. Again. 

‘Show him, Neeks. Go on.’ Percy said enthusiastically. 

‘Yeah! Prove him wrong!’ Jason added.

‘No!’ yelled Will, but it was too late. Smirking, Nico had slipped away, into the shadows. The wizards were floored. Their jaws had dropped. There were no questions, not even sputtering. Just silence. 

‘I’m going to kill him when he gets back.’

‘Oh let it go, Will,’ Percy said, throwing his arm around him. ‘He’s not tired, and he probably hasn’t gone far. I bet he’s standing right outside the door, smirking.’

Will did not look reassured. Hazel also looked worried, and was hugging Frank rather tightly. Piper and Annabeth were smiling at the wizards, as if to say, ‘This happens all the time!’

‘The magic around this place could have messed up his shadow travel. He’s never done it through magic wards before.’ Hazel said, looking out the window.

‘Oh come off it. He shadow traveled a forty-foot statue all the way from Rome to America. He’ll be fine.’

‘I’m not so sure…’

‘Only one way to find out.’ Jason said, opening the drawing room door. Standing right outside, leaning on the doorframe, was Nico.

‘Hey guys. I brought McDonalds.’

~o-o-o~

After recovering from the initial shock, the wizards politely excused themselves, and called an emergency meeting. The demigods and weasley children went back upstairs. The Weasley siblings stood on the landing listening in on it. The demigods awkwardly sat in their room. Nico had an odd feeling of déjà vu.

‘Well. That didn’t go as well as I thought it would.’ Jason commented. Will glared at him, checking an annoyed Nico over to make sure he hadn’t overexerted himself. 

‘Don’t be so paranoid, Will. He’s fine.’ Annabeth said, laughing at the furious look on Nico’s face.

‘Exactly!’ Nico stood up, only to be pulled back down again as Will checked his heart rate. He had just finished when they heard sounds in the hallway. It seemed the Weasley children had come to crash the party.

Strangely, they decided to knock this time (quietly, so the order didn’t hear), instead of abruptly barging in. The door slowly opened.

‘Um. Hi. Can we come in?’ Ginny asked. Nico really felt like saying absolutely not, but it was their house, so he probably couldn’t stop them. The four came in.

‘Umm, sorry to bother you and all, after the… incident, before, we were really curious and we had to come talk to you.’ Nico found it slightly amusing that, out of the four siblings, the three, usually rowdy brothers, were staying quiet while their little sister spoke. It was clear who ran the household. She gave Fred a hard nudge.

‘Oh. Um. Yes, well, we wanted to, aah… apologise… for how we acted earlier. We were just very shocked.’ He said, looking uncomfortable. ‘I guess we can be friends, seeing as you’ll be staying here a while.’

‘And we don’t mind that you’re dating,’ Ginny added, glowering at Fred.

‘Yes, and that.’

The demigods seemed reluctant, but Nico figured he hadn’t come all this way to be stopped by some judgemental comments that could be forgiven. If he didn’t become friends with his real family member, he could become friends with these people instead.

‘Yeah, it’s alright. You can stay, I guess.’

‘Great. Now we’ve got that out of the way, what other cool stuff can you do?’ Ron asked excitedly.

‘I suppose we’ve already given ourselves away, it wouldn’t make much difference if we did tell them,’ Piper spoke up.

‘Yeah. It won’t make much difference now.’ Percy said in agreement. The Weasleys were itching with anticipation. They were certain they were drawing out the explanation to annoy them.

‘Well, go on then. Tell us,’ Ron said.

‘I guess we should start with me. It feels pretty strange to be the centre of attention for once, instead of Jason or Percy.’ Nico started, sounding not at all bitter. ‘I can do quite a bit. I’m pretty good at sword fighting, and I can strategise fairly well, not as good as Annabeth, or Jason, or

Percy, but good enough. I also have some powers. I can shadow travel, which you just saw, using shadows to teleport to different places. It takes a lot of energy and practise to get it right though. That’s why Will’s always worried when I do it. I can also raise the dead, mostly as soldiers, but sometimes I raise ghosts to talk to. I guess you can go now Will.’

‘Um… Well I’m not really a fighter, I can do well enough with a sword to not get myself killed, but I’m terrible at archery. Mostly I work as a healer. The… summer camp, we all go to together gets a fair few injuries, so I always have work to do.’

‘Aren’t you too young to be healing people?’ George asked suspiciously.

‘Well who else would do it?’

‘An adult?’ Ginny asked, looking confused and worried.

‘Well, you see, at this… camp we go to, it’s for people with powers like ours, but there aren't any adults. We have camp counsellors, who are the oldest in each cabin, but sometimes the oldest isn’t that old. My cabin, the Apollo cabin, is in charge of healing. There was… a lot of loss the last few years, and if the older campers died… Well, the younger kids had to step up. My cabin used to be the most full, but after six of the older kids died, including the head counsellor, There were only three of us left. I was only twelve, but I was still the oldest, so I had to be head counsellor and take over the healing department. There’s only three of us so it’s pretty busy.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Ginny said quietly. ‘How did they die?’

‘It’s… complicated,’ Will answered. ‘Piper?’

‘Um… Well, I’m also a camp counsellor, in Aphrodite cabin. I’m not that good at fighting, but I have a dagger. Mostly I use charmspeak though. It’s this thing I can do, I can convince people to do things. I only use it when I really need to, because it can be dangerous.’

‘You can convince someone to do anything?’ Fred asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

‘Yeah, I got arrested for stealing a car once, because I convinced the salesman to let me take it. Half an hour later he realised what he’d done and called the police. Then I got shipped off to military school. I suppose that’s a good thing though, because I met Jason and Leo.’

Leo grinned at her, so excited for his turn he was bouncing in his seat.

‘Leo?’

‘Yes! Ok, my go. I’m also a head counsellor, of the Hephaestus cabin. I’m not the oldest, but basically I did the cool stuff, and everyone decided I was the best and they would put me in charge forever. I don’t have any particular weapons, apart from a hammer, but I have this really cool toolbelt,’ he undid it and held it up excitedly so they could all see, then quickly put it back on before his pants fell down. ‘It may look small, but the inside is pretty much infinite. You can put anything in there! Except for some stuff like buildings, and people, which I wish it would do. How funny would it be to carry Nico around in my toolbelt?’

‘Not at all funny,’ Nico muttered, looking distrustfully at the belt, as if it might swallow him up whole.

‘Anyway, I can also control fire, which is pretty cool, if I do say so myself.’

‘You did say so. You’ve said so quite a few times. The thing is, you’re the only one saying it,’ Nico said. Leo ignored him. George however, did not.

‘You can control fire? Like how much? Can you use it for pranks?’

‘Does this answer your question?’ with that he set his entire body on fire, it was a good thing he was standing up, or he probably would have scorched the chair. Ron had to clamp his hand over Ginny’s mouth to stop her from screaming, but the demigods just looked mildly amused. 

‘You know when you go out you're gonna be naked, right?’ Percy said, snickering. A look of realisation passed over Leo’s face.

‘Shit!’ he ran into the bathroom, still entirely on fire. The room was silent for a few seconds, until Percy commented.

‘So who wants to go next?’

~o-o-o~

After all the demigods had recounted their stories, and Leo was fully clothed, George decided to ask the question he had been wondering since that incident in the drawing room. 

‘So. How exactly did you get your powers?’

The demigods nervously glanced at each other, like they were deciding on doing something. 

‘It’s a very long, and very complicated story,’ Annabeth finally started. ‘You’re not going to believe it at first, and it’s very likely you won't believe it ever. I need you to mentally prepare yourselves. Try to convince yourselves that whatever words come out of my mouth are completely possible and rational. Ok, are you ready?’

The wizards nodded their heads reluctantly, waiting in tense silence for whatever wild, incredible, unbelievable things Annabeth was about to tell them.

‘We’re children of gods,’ Annabeth blurted out, deciding to get the worst over with. ‘Greek or Roman gods came down to earth and reproduced with our mortal parents. What they created are kids like us called demigods, or halfbloods. Our lives are entirely centred around the gods, and whatever shit they get themselves into. It’s terrifying, and dangerous, and most of the time you get killed before adulthood. 

‘I know this all sounds crazy to you, especially because whatever culture you have here doesn’t know a lot about non-magical people, you probably don’t know a lot about gods, you’re probably scared of the idea that their are all powerful beings out there that you have no control over, and we’re just a bunch of random teenagers that turned up at your house, but please, even if you don’t believe it, just humour us. We can prove it, but not right now, not while all the adults could find out.’

There was a stunned silence. Annabeth was hardly breathing, waiting to see how they would react.

‘Well that was quite the speech,’ said a new voice. Standing in the doorway, an unreadable expression on his face was Albus Dumbledore.


	5. -DETERMINING AND DETERMINATION-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning for mild swearing.

Albus Dumbledore sat at a desk, in a dark office, with dark furniture, and a dark mood. The large group of children in front of him wore expressions ranging from terror to indifference. 

‘There is no need to be worried, I will not tell your mother you were in their room. I think it best, though, if we discuss this issue together. Now, I am under the impression you believe that you are children of muggle gods, is that correct?’ Dumbledore turned his attention to Annabeth as she cleared her throat. 

‘Sir, with all due respect, the expression ‘muggle’ means non-magical, right? Well as we proved before, we are not non-magical, and neither are our parents.’

‘Do  _ you _ have any proof of your claims, Miss Chase?’

‘Hey, Annabeth might not seem as powerful as the rest of us, because she doesn’t have magic, or necromancy, or whatever other crazy talents the rest of us have, but she is smart, smarter than all of us combined probably, and though we don’t usually show it,’ he glanced at leo,’We are actually intelligent. In most battles it comes down to talk, trickery and delay, not actual  strength. And, if this convinces you, Annabeth has gone through the same, hell, more crazy shit than the rest of us,  _ without  _ special powers.’ Percy finished, glancing around the room with a glare, as if daring someone to challenge him.

‘That’s very sweet of you, seaweed brain,’ Annabeth grinned, ruffling his hair. ‘but I can threaten people just fine myself.’

‘Oh, I know. I wasn’t defending you, I was warning them.’

‘Well, that’s even sweeter.’ 

Leo coughed loudly, trying to steer them away from being coupley, and back onto the topic. 

‘Great! With that being said,’ he set the coat stand on fire. Percy quickly summoned some water to put it out, while Hazel glared dangerously at Leo. Even Annabeth had to try hard to hide her laughter.

‘Leo! That isn’t even yours! You should know that it’s disrespectful to come into someone’s house and set their coat stand on fire!’ Hazel said angrily, picking it up and repairing it with a charm.

Dumbledore sat, straight up in his chair, eyes wide. The Weasleys looked rather shaken as well, shifting from foot to foot, wearing worried expressions, and occasionally glancing at the newly repaired coat stand.

‘Well, it seems you do indeed have some form of magic. However, on the topic of your godly parentage, I’m sad to say, I believe someone has hoodwinked you. No harsh feelings, I assure you. It happens to the best of us.’

‘Ok.’ 

Dumbledore was expecting a lot of things. Rage, confusion, disbelief. One thing he was not expecting, though, was acceptance. No follow up, no explanation, just ‘ok’. If the boy, with golden hair and tanned skin, basically attached at the hip to Severus’ cousin, had not moved his lips, he would not have believed it was said.

Will Solace’s friends seemed to agree. They looked at him with, at best confusion, and at worst anger and betrayal in their faces.

‘What? It’s a pretty unbelievable story. I don’t think any of us really expected them to believe us at first. It’s not like we have solid proof.’

It was not the unprecedented fire, or the water, or even infiltration of the order that unnerved Dumbledore, but the manic glint in Percy Jackson’s eye as he stood from his chair. It was like his blood had literally run cold; he wanted to stop time at that exact moment just so he didn’t have to see the result of the experiment Percy was about to attempt. 

Albus Dumbledore had always considered himself brave. Not in a way people brag about, it was just a quiet but certain feeling that was always there, in the back of his mind.  _ Certain,  _ is the key word, because at that moment, with the strange smile, the psychotic eyes, the twisted look that reminded him so much of an old friend, Dumbledore was uncertain. No, that didn’t cover it. At that moment, Dumbledore was a coward.

‘Percy, the gods know most muggles don’t believe in them any more. They accept it, hell, they like it that way. Some old man denying their existence isn’t going to worry them enough to come here.’ Jason said, also looking unsettled.

‘I know,’ the tension was so thick, the whole room was on the edge of their seats, holding their breath as Percy Jackson did either the bravest, or the stupidest, thing he possibly could have done.

‘Hey, Zeus! It’s been a while since your incompetent ass messed something up so badly you had to call us in for help! What’s the matter, I thought that was your favourite pastime? Well, apart from insulting me, and you haven’t done that in a while either. You haven’t gone soft, have you?’

The disbelief and utter horror on the demigods’ faces could only be seen for a few seconds, before a lightning bolt hit the exact spot Percy had been standing in, blinding everyone in the room. Time seemed to stop as white light soaked the room, and that fraction of a second felt like forever. The lightning bolt had not made a sound, and yet it was the most deafening thing Dumbledore had ever heard.

The moment passed, though, as all moments eventually do. He readjusted his eyes to the gloomy light, now slightly brightened by the charred hole in the ceiling. Directly underneath this hole, a circle of blackened wood in the already dark flooring could be made out, and next to it, the body of Percy Jackson.

For unexplainable reasons, the aforementioned body, which  _ definitely _ should not be alive, was the first thing to move.

‘Thanks, Zeus! We definitely owe you a favour!’ 

~o-o-o~

‘I want to talk to my cousin.’ Nico said abruptly, as the group made their way down the staircase. There was a moment of confusion before they realised he was talking about Snape. While the two were similar in many ways, it was hard to imagine them as family.

‘Why on earth would you want to do that? Snape hates you,’ Ron said, his friendly demeanour instantly turning cold.

‘I came here to see  _ him. _ Not that you guys don’t seem okay, I just want to get to know my family in a normal way for once.’ 

There was an obvious shift in the tone as the group remembered the events of the day before, and Snape’s obvious dislike for Nico. This clearly wasn’t going to end well. 

‘Well, he’s coming to the order meeting the day after tomorrow, so I expect you he will speak to you then,’ Dumbledore said, injecting himself into their little conversation. They jumped, as if just remembering that the adult was there. You should always be on your guard when Dumbledore is around, he has his ways of seeming like he’s not.

‘I will also say,’ Dumbledore continued, ‘That I do not believe Professor Snape hates you. He is not a very, aah, emotional person. He was quite happy living with only acquaintances rather than close friends or family. I imagine the sudden shock of a long lost family member is a lot for him to process. Please don’t let his first impression get in the way of a possible relationship.’

‘Right. Sure. Will do.’ Nico muttered bitterly. He ran the last few steps of the stairs, reaching the dining room before them, destroying any chance at furthering the conversation.

‘He’s not going to do that, is he,’ Jason sighed.

‘Not in a million years,’ Percy replied.


	6. -THE OTHER SHOE JUST DROPPED-

After a wonderful dinner courtesy of Molly Weasley, most of the order members declared it time to go home, as it was getting late. Our group of demigods were hoping to use this order-member-free time to explore the house and talk to the other children without fear of being caught by mad wizards.

Before they could execute their plan though, they were stealthily pulled aside into the kitchen by Albus Dumbledore. Though he looked significantly calmer after a good meal, they could still see the mistrust in his eyes. As soon as they were all squished into the kitchen, he cleared his throat and began to talk.

‘As inopportune as the current situation is, I think it best we discuss our options now. I know you probably don’t want to reveal much about your real lives to my Order. Especially as this a family visit, and you wouldn’t want to say anything too early on that could devastate your future relationship. However, as your status presents a security risk, I think your generous hosts deserve to know what they’re getting into by letting you stay.

‘So, I propose that we tell them during the next Order meeting. Everybody involved in the inner-circle will be there, so you will only have to explain once. Of course, I understand that you have more say in this matter than me.’ He said emotionlessly. The demigods glanced around, silently debating on who should answer. Finally, Nico stepped forward.

‘I kinda wanted to talk to Snape at the next meeting, and I think telling him will probably jeopardize any chance we have at a good relationship, but you’re right,’ He said.’ The other people here should know exactly what sort of danger they’re in by keeping us here before they make the choice to let us stay.’

‘Agreed,’Jason added. ‘Nobody should be left in the dark about this.’

There were other noises of agreement from the group.

‘Then it’s settled,’ Dumbledore said, his voice serious. ‘By the end of the next meeting, everybody will know.’

This conversation really put a damper on the exciting evening of exploring and fun the children had ahead of them.

~o-o-o~

The two days of blissful inactivity flew by in a hazy blur of talk, laughter, and delicious food. While the haze was filled with mostly fun memories, there was a dark cloud lurking in the shadows, growing slowly but determinedly, casting them into anxiety and despair. It was hard to have a fun moment laughing Sirius, or chatting with Arthur without the thought of them turning on you with hate and disgust the moment they found out your secret.

The time passed in a complex mix of happiness and dread, and by the time everybody was seated in the drawing room ready for another meeting they had fully come to terms with the possibility of their new friends reacting badly to the news.

Contrary to the demigods' feelings on the meeting, the Weasley children were ecstatic that they were being included for once. They were so excited they didn’t once stop to think about the possibility of their new friends being kicked out, or worse.

The sound of two booming claps rang through the room as Dumbledore called the meeting to order. Slowly the sound of light chatter died out, and everybody turned to hear what was so important that even Ginny, the youngest child besides Hazel, were allowed in.

‘Attention everybody!’ Dumbledore began. ‘I am aware that this meeting was supposed to discuss other topics, but some new information has come to my attention. I’m sure we all remember young Mr. Di Angelo’s …demonstration a while ago. I’m also aware that you are all very curious as to the nature of these powers.’

He glanced around the room, looking directly at each person.

‘A lot of what I’m about to say will shock you, but I know that you have all faced even larger problems before. I trust that you will all be able to remain calm and rational. When you signed up to this group, you knew you would encounter difficulty. Though this situation is not something you would have imagined dealing with, it must be dealt with all the same, and you all have the right to know what is going on.’

There was a tense silence as Dumbledore talked, curiosity overwhelming everyone in the crowd. Some of the attendees would have told you that Dumbledore was drawing out his speech to heighten the tension.

‘We have decided to discuss this together, and I encourage you all to be open minded. So, without further ado Nico, you have the floor.’

Nico slowly stood up and made his way to the centre of the room. There was an awkward silence for a moment, before he took a deep breath and began to talk.

‘Well, you all know what happened, and I suppose you want to know why. I may accidentally miss things out or not remember them correctly, so my friends can interject if I do. I know you probably won't believe me at first, but here goes. We’re all children of gods. Greek and Roman gods. You probably don’t believe anything I’m saying right now, but Dumbledore would not have given us the chance to tell you this if he didn’t have solid proof that it’s true. From what I know, there are many occasions where you have to take Dumbledore’s word, so please just trust us for a few minutes.’

The moments after his short speech were so silent you could hear a pin drop. Then, to absolutely no one’s surprise:

‘Lies,’ Snape said softly, anger lacing his tone. ‘Everything this boy has said is a lie. We have no reason to believe him. First they break into our invisible restricted headquarters, then they claim to be related to me, and now this? We should have thrown them out, with their memories wiped the second they got in here.’

‘I agree, you have no reason to believe us. If I was in your situation I wouldn’t either, but please, even if you won’t trust us, trust Dumbledore.’ Nico continued desperately.

‘Well why don’t we just tell them what happened? That should be enough to convince them, and even if they still believe we somehow fooled Dumbledore, I’m sure we can find more proof.’ Annabeth, who is apparently the only reasonable person here, said.

‘Damn, why didn’t I think of that?’ Nico quickly recounted the events of that fateful night. They were an amazing audience, gasping in all the right places, and sitting on the edge of their seats. When he dramatically recounted the moment Percy was almost struck by lightning Mrs Weasley almost had a heart attack.

By the end of the story, most of the room looked convinced that the demigods were not lying. However, there were still some who through the tale was ridiculous.

‘I think,’ Started Moody, taking a vial Snape was handing to him. ‘That this nonsense has gone on long enough. The only logical answer here is that they’re death eaters, and they’ve hoodwinked you all. Tie them all up and shove some Verituserum down their throats. It’s about time we got to the truth.’


	7. -AND THAT’S A WRAP, FOLKS-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I last uploaded. I'm really sorry, and to make up for it I have the most exciting chapter yet. Please enjoy.
> 
> Warning for swearing.

‘Absolutely not,’ Arthur Weasley moved forward from his place at the back of the room. ‘Why this girl is younger than Ginny! I will not have fully-grown, capable, adult wizards tie up a child younger than my own fourteen-year-old daughter. If any of you so much as move in their direction I will throw you out of this house faster than you can say Verituserum.’

‘How dare you threaten me, blood traitor!’ Snape yelled back. 

Shock waves swept through the room as the impact of what he’d said registered in everyone’s brains. After the second of initial shock, there came outrage. Shouts of disgust were made by all, even those on the sidelines of the discussion came forward to Arthur’s defence. Snape paled as he realised the consequences of his outburst, and desperately tried to take back his insult and argue his point, but it was no use. The words ‘death eater’, ‘snake’, ‘cruel’ and ‘evil’ were pounding in everyone’s ears, along with some even ruder adjectives. Snape was backing against the wall as people surrounded him, occasionally throwing items or spells.

‘Silence!’ A booming voice was heard, even over the deafening noise. Everyone turned to see Dumblerdore, standing on the coffee table, with his wand tip on his throat to amplify his voice.

‘Alastor, Severus, please calm yourselves. I will not have threats or vulgar insults thrown around like you’re school children.’ He paused. ‘Once everyone is calm, I would like to get back to the topic at hand.’

‘But sir!’ Ginny interjected. ‘He called my father a blood traitor, surely you’re not going to let him stay?’

‘I understand your complaint, but as Professor Snape is largely involved in this situation, I think it best he stays.’

Ginny still looked furious, but clenched her teeth and decided not to reply.

‘So where were we?’

Nico stared at Snape and Moody distrustfully, but resumed his speech. ‘As I was saying, I understand if you’re still a little skeptical. I would be too. So I think it’s only fair that we provide you with proof. I was the one that wanted to come here, and I dragged everyone into this mess. I’ll take your truth potion - veti serum, or whatever it’s called - and you can ask me any question you like.’

Minerva Mcgonagall had previously been rather cold towards Nico, thinking the demigods may put the order in danger. But at that moment, she was the first to speak up; even before Arthur. 

‘There will be no need for that, my dear,’ she said in a surprisingly soft voice. ‘I’ll admit I may have been a little doubtful of your story, but I draw the line at forced truth. You have obviously given Dumbledore enough proof, and I trust his decision. As we all should.’ She glared around the room as she finished, daring anyone to oppose her. Someone did.

‘Oh, bullshit,’ said an agitated Moody. ‘He agreed to take the potion. That he will.’ With that he stepped into the centre of the room and quickly uncorked the bottle, ready to pour it down Nico’s throat. Before he could do so, Nico snatched it off him and downed it in one go. 

‘Moody!’ Mrs Weasley sputtered, fearfully looking at Nico. ‘He’s not a wizard or muggle. We have no idea how this could affect him- He might be poisoned!’

‘Well he’s already taken it, so there’s no point worrying now,’ he said, waving her off. ‘Alright, first question: What’s your name?’

‘Wallace Connell.’ Nico replied, his lips twitching. Before anyone could comment on his sudden name change, George caught on.

Smiling, he asked Nico, ‘Say Wallace, is your hair currently black?’

It was quite clear that it was, but Nico replied, ‘No. It’s bright green.’

‘Are your eyes purple?’ He continued.

‘Indeed they are.’ Nico replied, trying not to laugh. ‘It seems dear cousin, that your potion doesn’t work.’

‘That’s ridiculous, I’ve used some from the same batch before and it worked fine!’ Snape replied.

‘Well Mrs Weasley did tell you it could have a different effect on me.’

‘FOR THE LAST TIME YOU ARE NOT A DEMIGOD AND YOU ARE NOT MY COUSIN,’ He screamed, flying off the handle. In a fit of rage he grabbed the closest thing he could reach, a china vase, and hurled it across the room. In a fraction of a second Nico managed to duck, only just avoiding being hit. He waited in that second to hear the china shatter against the wall, but the noise did not come. Instead, a low growl could be heard, coming from directly behind him. The other occupants of the room gasped, and stood frozen with fear.

Slowly, Nico turned around. He was face to face with a very,  _ very  _ big dog. In its mouth it gently held the vase. There was a split second as Nico stared at the dog before it bit down on the vase so violently that glass shards flew across the room. 

How fortunate that just when they needed proof, a monster decided to drop in. And how  _ unfortunate _ that the hellhound was not here to play.

~o-o-o~

Everyone was dead quiet. Nobody wanted to move and upset the creature. 

The hellhound slowly surveyed the frozen room, stopping to lock eyes with Snape. They silently stared each other down, Snape’s arm still held up from throwing the vase. His thoughts raced.

The dog knew who had thrown it.

The dog could reach Snape in one leap.

The dog could tear Snape to shreds in a matter of seconds.

He could not reach his wand without alerting the dog.

The dog could kill him faster than he could reach his wand.

There was no way out.

Just as Snape was contemplating how terrible of a way to die this was, something moved. In less than two seconds Nico was standing from his position less than a foot in front of the hellhound, arm outstretched and sword on the dog’s throat. The fight began.

The hellhound jumped away from the sword, attempting to attack Nico from another angle. They danced between each other for a minute, swiping claws or swords, and quickly jumping away from the other’s weapon. Nico wasn’t all that strong, but he was fast. Before anyone could see  what had happened he was on the hellhound’s back. He drove his sword right into its neck, killing it in a matter of seconds. He slowly fell to the ground as the dog disintegrated, and soon he was sitting on a large pile of dust, the only thing left of the monster. Everyone was left in awkward silence as they realised what had happened. 

‘So,’ said Nico, breaking the silence. ‘Was that enough proof or would you like me to find a minotaur to kill as well?’

The demigods slowly looked at each other, smiling. 

‘I dunno Nico, a minotaur’s pretty easy,’ Leo joked, ‘You should at least offer to fight a Chimera. Wouldn’t want them to think you’re going soft.’

‘Yeah, maybe a hydra too, while you’re at it,’ Jason added.

Nico grinned and rolled his eyes, jumping off the dust pile to punch Jason in the shoulder. The other demigods laughed and gave him pats on the back. They seemed not to notice the twenty or so order members also standing in the room. Though, they were still completely silent, stuck in the same positions like they were in a game of musical statues. Snape was the first of them to speak; not that he said anything useful.

‘Sweet Merlin. It’s real.’

‘Oh you’re certain of that, are you?’ Jason asked sarcastically.

Moody glared at him. ‘Prove that it was a creature of your world and I will be,’ he sneered. ‘Tell me what it was, where it came from, and why the bloody hell it’s in this house.’

‘Would you like some some fucking tea with that?’ Nico asked. He turned to Snape, ‘You're welcome by the way.’

‘Yes, um-’ Snape coughed awkwardly. ‘Thank you - cousin’

Nico raised his eyebrows but decided not to comment. The other demigods were not so subtle. Cheering and clapping they grabbed Snape and pulled him to the sofa, declaring it a ‘proper family reunion’. Even Moody got a few pats on the back and the occasional ‘Cheer up, old mate!’

The evening flew by in a haze of partying. It took a few minutes of failed spells from various members to get rid of the dust pile before hazel got tired of laughing at them and stepped into help. Moody seemed to come around as he listened to Percy dramatically tell tales of his adventures. Mrs Weasley yelled her head off when she found Fred and George pouring shots of ‘Uncle Robert’s ghost-approved spirits’ and passing them round. Mr Weasley talked excitedly with  Leo about muggle mechanics and Mrs Weasley told stories of her children when they were younger to Percy, Annabeth and Jason. Soon someone decided to turn on the radio, and a few couples got up to dance; as well as Fred, George and Leo, who attempted to do some kind of three person waltz.

But far away from the happy, care-free atmosphere of the party, Severus Snape stood in the corner. Nico spotted him, and, deciding it was time for a chat, approached him with two drinks. They stood next to each other for a few moments, backs to the wall, watching their friends dance. Nico silently handed him a drink.

‘What is it?’ Snape asked.

‘Elder’s unbeatable ale,’ he took a sip. ‘It’s disgusting.’

‘You’re too young to drink.’

‘I watered it down.’

‘Still.’

‘I’m not that young anyway.’

Snape snickered, ‘You’re what, fourteen?’

‘About eighty-four,’ he replied nonchalantly. ‘I got stuck in a casino that slows time down when I was eleven. I was actually born in 1932. That technically makes me your great uncle, but just saying cousin is a lot less confusing.’

‘Why were you in a casino at eleven?'

‘My dad sent my sister and I there to protect us.’

‘You have a sister?’

‘Had,’ his voice was even, but his hand shook slightly. ‘She died a few years ago.’

‘Ah. My condolences.’ 

They were both silent for a few moments, leaning against the wall and watching the party.

‘She would have liked to meet you,’ Nico said quietly. ‘Though she was very protective, so you might have had an arrow shot through your head for saying anything rude.’

‘She was older than you then?’

‘By two years. She joined a group of young female warriors and died on her first quest. She was twelve.’

‘What on earth was she doing out fighting at that age?’

Nico smiled sadly and shrugged. ‘Percy went on his first quest at twelve. I was ten when I arrived at camp. Annabeth was seven when she ran away from home. Hell, Jason started at camp Jupiter when he was a toddler. I guess we all start young.’

Before Snape could think of an answer to that, they were approached by Will Solace. He wandered over, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a drink. He nodded to Snape before turning to Nico.

‘Hey Neeks, what do you say about a dance?’ He asked. 

Maybe it was because Will was a child of the sun god, or maybe Nico was just happy to see him, but suddenly their dark corner seemed a lot lighter.

‘How could I refuse,’ he laughed and turned to Snape. ‘I’ll see you later Sn- um, Severus.’

‘Yes, you too… Nico.’

And with that, Nico and Will went off to dance.

The end?


	8. -OR IS IT?-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter of the story. It's taken me what, 3 months? To write this, and it's been so much fun. This is my first fanfiction, and really my first full novelette length story. I never expected it to get more than ten reads, never mind 1.5 thousand. So thank you, so, so much to everyone reading.
> 
> This is by no means the end of my writing on here, and I've already planned many more stories. 
> 
> Once again, thank you, and enjoy the ending.

It was a bright and warm day, as the world had decided today was the perfect day to deny the stereotypes of England’s weather. Reveling in the lovely atmosphere, the Londoners packed the streets, equipped with towels and swimsuits on their way to the beach. All in all, it was a wonderful day in London.

A group of demigods and wizards made their way down to the Heathrow airport, chattering and laughing along with the other Londoners. But despite the weather being more summer-like than the day they had arrived, the mood was far more bittersweet. It had been three weeks since the group of demigods first set foot in London, but that was far too little time to get to know their new friends.

‘It should be just up here,’ Mr Weasley said, though he didn’t sound entirely sure. They continued walking down the street until they saw a signpost.

‘Airport,’ he read. ‘See, I told you it was around here!’

‘Arthur, we’ve been walking for half an hour,’ Mrs Weasley said, smiling.

‘Yes, well- close enough.’ The children laughed, and Mr Weasley grinned at them. ‘I must say, I’ve never been to an airport. It would be a most interesting experience.’

Everybody smiled and a few rolled their eyes.

‘Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to stay a little longer. And it would be a good opportunity for the children to see muggle culture.’

‘Of course, Molly. We won't be long at all.’

Mr Weasley continued to babble as they entered through the sliding glass doors. The other wizards also seemed amazed by the building.

‘So where do we go now? Will we get to see the aeroplanes?’ Mr Weasley asked excitedly.

‘Well, we have to go through security before we can board, but the plane won't be boarding for another three hours, so we can have lunch first.’ Will replied.

They walked through the bustling open area until they arrived at a burger joint.

‘What do you want?’ Will asked the group as they lined up at the counter. ‘You better have your own money, because I can’t pay for you all.’

After ordering and paying, they all sat down at two large tables to wait. They spoke energetically, joking and chatting about various things, but everyone seemed rather sad. This became apparent when the conversation turned to their flight.

‘You will come visit again, won’t you?’ Asked Mrs Weasley. She looked like she was about to cry. Ginny put her head on her mother’s shoulder, also looking teary.

‘Of course,’ Nico smiled. The others nodded along. ‘Once I get better at shadow-travel it’ll be much easier to come. Then I can move directly from America to here.’

‘You will do no such thing!’ Will said angrily, though his lips twitched. Everyone laughed, and after a few moments of trying not to, he joined in.

Jason looked down at his watch, ‘It’s been an hour, we should probably get ready to go guys.’

Mrs Weasley burst into tears and hugged each of them as they got up and started saying their goodbyes.

They all took their time saying goodbye to their friends, except for Nico. He quickly hugged everyone, before wandering over to the back of the restaurant where Snape was drinking from a can of muggle beer and looking outside. Nico stood next to him and leaned on the fence.

‘Can I have a sip of that?’ He asked cheekily, looking at the can.

‘Absolutely not.’ Snape replied. Nico just laughed.

‘It seems we have a habit of doing this,’ Nico said, glancing towards the group of people.

‘Of doing what?’

‘You know. Standing by ourselves outside big groups. Usually in dark corners. With beer.’

‘ _I_ have a habit of doing this. You have a habit of standing next to me.’

Nico smiled, ‘I used to. I didn’t want to join in on the big campfires and games. Things change, I guess.’

‘Not for me. There’s really no hope of them ever liking me, even if they like you. I have no desire for them to like me anyway.’

‘Sure,’ Nico laughed. ‘But just so you know, that’s exactly what I used to tell myself. And I didn’t know it was a lie until I tried it.’

‘That’s completely different.’

Nico just smiled again and raised his eyebrows. ‘Is the beer good?’

Snape was quiet for a moment, and then to Nico’s surprise, he smiled too. ‘It’s disgusting.’

They both stood there in silence, trying not to make a sound, until they couldn’t hold it in and they both burst out laughing. The rest of the group turned around in shock. Ron had to rub his eyes to check he was seeing right, because surely that wasn’t _Snape_ laughing? And yet it was. The group tried to pretend not to notice, but they kept glancing to the back of the shop to check that, yes, that was Snape laughing. 

It would be fair to assume that Snape was embarrassed by his outburst, that he immediately stopped laughing and regained his cool and calm composure. It would be fair to assume that he immediately went back to being Severus Snape.

And yet he didn’t. He was standing in a dirty burger joint, laughing mortifyingly loud at a joke that no one understands except him and his long-lost-fourteen-year-old-great-uncle. And he didn’t care. For the first time in decades, Severus Snape felt happy.

After they’d calmed down and caught their breath, Nico tried talking again.

‘They could like you, you know,’ he said quietly. ‘If you tried.’

‘No one likes _me._ ’

‘I like you.’

‘You’re obligated to.’

‘It's a start.’

‘It’s too late for a start.’

‘Well that's too bad, because the start has already started, now you have to keep going.’

Snape was saved from having to answer that one as Will walked over.

‘Hey, Neeks. Ready to go?’

‘As I’ll ever be,’ he turned to Snape. ‘The start’s already begun. Just try… Cousin.’

Snape was silent for a few moments.

‘I will… Nico.’

After one more tearful hug from Mrs Weasley, Will pulled him by the hand, and Nico left to catch his plane.

And on the last page of a story, a new start began.


End file.
